EASL LiverTree™: A Case study

How a Medical Association’s investment in a cutting edge online educational platform has rewarded it with remarkable growth in membership, reach and revenue.

1

MICHAELFOREMAN

EASL Grows Membership Revenue by 489% with Pioneering Advanced Online Education From small beginnings in 1966, EASL has grown to achieve widely recognised status as the leading liver association in Europe. Now heading towards its 50th anniversary, the association has nevertheless faced significant challenges in more recent years. Budgetary constraints, declining markets due to increased competition and fast-evolving members’ expectations have all presented a case for business development in a tough environment. EASL has responded by implementing and developing advanced membership benefits – a ground breaking online learning and resource portal powered by MULTILEARNING Group Inc. The technology has

become a core differentiator for EASL in terms of membership benefits, with membership increasing from 800 in 2005 to 4,000 in 2014, and a 489% increase in membership since launching its online educational agenda.

EASL Profile • The leading European liver association • 4000 Members Worldwide • Annual international congress of 9000 participants • Numerous other educational events annually ranging in size • Significant industry sponsorship

A Vision for the Future of Online Education Grégoire Pavillon is the Executive Director of EASL and has been closely involved in driving the development of online education at EASL. “When I started to work for EASL I was struck by the association’s dedication to education” he recalls. “ This passion was reflected in my own vision of not only delivering the best content but also finding the best way to reach out to the biggest audience, giving people the chance to learn, capture and disseminate on a long term basis.” Upon meeting Joel-Zvi Chetzroni, CEO of MULTILEARNING, in 2005, it emerged that this was a commonly shared goal between the two organisations. At that time, efforts were focused on delivering webcasts from key conferences and presentations in the association’s calendar. “In the beginning we started to deliver educational webcasts with quizzes that addressed search functionality, multiple language issues and legal and data concerns, with a core focus on the market need for CME and CPD” explains Pavillon, “But even at that early stage we sensed that this was the start of doing something special to maximise member benefits using new educational technology. I was keen to move away from short-term planning and develop the mid-term and long term vision, both for our members and for the growth of EASL as a viable commercial prospect.”

2

MICHAELFOREMAN

Evolving the Platform to Deliver 21st Century Educational Tools As the popularity of EASL’s webcasts grew so, too, did the content, setting the stage for a step change. “Our content was growing and growing” says Pavillon. “But at that stage the library and the webcasts were indexed by date, event and sessions only, making the search results too cumbersome. In response, MULTILEARNING suggested that they could develop an “eLearning Hub” containing all materials and learning activities, and supplement it with powerful search tools. “We called this advanced version of the e-learning portal The LiverTree™.” Work began on developing this engine and continued for three years, resulting in an educational portal that is becoming exponentially

Issues Faced by Most Associations • Challenging market conditions • Budgetary constraints • Limited sponsorship funds • Declining markets due to increased competition • Evolving members’ expectations

sophisticated. It features a structure hosting thousands of educational materials and activities - all organized with unique search functionalities. One such offering, “Matching Slides”, equips LiverTree™ users to build fully customized presentations in seconds from multiple sources. They type in keywords such as “Globe Study”, select the slides from the presentations they want and LiverTree™ automatically stiches them together to create their very own highlight on this particular study over the years. “Effectively it’s a system that performs like Google” Pavillon explains. “In 30 seconds you can find the entire selection of what LiverTree™ can offer on just a single page. You can find posters, abstracts, webcasts, accredited courses, learning quizzes and even precise matching slides.” Another genuine educational feature available on the landing page of the LiverTree™ allows users to drill down on a topic using a patent-pending system, which instantly accesses precise and accurate information in EASL lectures—without typing a single word. “We have 1,500 branches and sub branches on the LiverTree™ Hepatology Tree, so the search functionality has to be incredibly advanced to cope with that. Three years ago you had to trawl through an entire presentation to find the topic you wanted. Now you can pinpoint it in seconds. That speed of access is the most important differentiator that people are looking for. Even as we were working on these developments we knew that we were at the leading edge of a completely new way to educate people online.” says Pavillon

EASL always tries to reach the best speakers and the best topics to be covered in the best way. That makes our members feel privileged to have access to an amazing amount of information they just can’t find elsewhere.”

3

MICHAELFOREMAN

Strategic Budget Allocation to Deliver a Superior Return on Investment EASL delivered the power and scope of LiverTree™’s technology not through additional financial commitment, but through smart re-allocation of resources to ensure the maximum return. “We realised that for the price of one event we could make this huge search engine and enhance the delegate experience by one hundred times” Pavillon confirms. “So we decided to defer the budget from just one of our twelve annual conferences and invest it in this area instead. Of course, in terms of commitment and human resources it was hard work, but the results for EASL have been game-changing.”

But even at that early stage we sensed that this was the start of doing something special to maximise member benefits using new educational technology.”

Those results include a doubling of new membership applications compared to the previous year and 550 in the month that the LiverTree™ was launched. “Initially, I considered offering LiverTree™ free of charge” says Pavillon. ”However, when we started to see the impact on our members and how they could disseminate their knowledge amongst their colleagues we realised that this service has an intrinsic and unique value that people are willing to pay for. Now, membership requests are coming in without us soliciting them. We know from experience that membership will grow organically because of it. It’s vital that we share what we have achieved at EASL, because we are living proof that this kind of business growth could be achieved by any association without necessarily including large budgetary changes. Of course this kind of development does cost money, but our results show all too clearly the ROI that can be achieved.”

LiverTree™: Key Features • A single platform to host all EASL congress materials & activities since 2005 • An advanced structure to organize all content efficiently by topics, events, speakers/authors, • Powerful search tools including the search & build system to find content by keywords over the years • Patent-Pending index & build

system to instantly find accurate section of presentations by sub-topics

• Post produced work on all materials & activities to enhance end-users’ experience accessing content • Advanced, searchable and interactive webcast • Ability to gather ECMEC CME Credits by completing online CME courses accredited by UEMS • e-learning tools including learning quizzes, interactive live sessions, clinical cases & self-assessments • Landing page featuring a genuine

It’s not just about generating revenue. It’s about achieving the very best you can for your association and for your membership through providing those advanced educational benefits.”

scientific tree on Hepatology assessed by liver experts

• Ability to interact with Authors, access abstracts, ePosters, documents such as PPT files shared & more… • Seamless Access on native iPad/ iPhone & Android Apps

4

MICHAELFOREMAN

Providing High Quality, Differentiating Services for Members Pavillon is keen to emphasise that the success of LiverTree™ lies not only in its state of the art technology, but also in a stringent focus on maintaining high quality resources. “When we realised the impact I was keen to webcast everything, but MULTILEARNING encouraged me to just focus on the very best resources. It has turned out to be the right strategy. You can have all the latest technology, but ultimately members have to know that the content will be the best they’ll find anywhere. That’s why they trust LiverTree™ and appreciate it as a service they can only access as a member. It’s not just about generating revenue. It’s about achieving the very best you can for your association and for your membership through providing those advanced educational benefits.”

We’re now recruiting members worldwide who

Results and Return on Investment • Increase in membership of 489% • 3:1 return against investment • Retention increase due to high value proposition for members • Expanding global membership • Generation of

content preferences

• New sponsorship opportunities for industry

previously would not have seen the value of joining a European Association.

This is reflected in the length of interaction members demonstrate online, with users spending up to 30 minutes focusing on those resources that demonstrate the most intensive review focus combined with animation and post production. “The system now, for example, allows you to take slides and make your own presentation, and to take interactive courses and quizzes” says Pavillon. “Our members feel they’re part of an exclusive club where they can get access to all the information and learning they need. EASL always tries to reach the best speakers and the best topics to be covered in the best way. That makes our members feel privileged to have access to an amazing amount of information they just can’t find elsewhere.” Not only has membership increased, it has diversified geographically since implementing LiverTree™. “We have members from Australia who cannot find our kinds of topic-focused meetings in their part of the world. They can’t afford to fly from Sydney to Europe for a conference but they can get all the information via LiverTree™. That means that we’re now recruiting members worldwide who previously would not have seen the value of joining a European Association.”

The landscape is changing and that we need to invest in online accreditation now. If you’re not thinking about it your organisation must surely be at risk.”

5

MICHAELFOREMAN

Pursuing a New Age of Professional Development with Online Accreditation Not content to stand still, EASL is now entering the new age of virtual education by launching online accreditation to its member base. “At the moment this tends to be popular in certain countries where members cannot access other options” Pavillon explains. “We haven’t yet aggressively promoted our courses, but we’re finding very high levels of adoption in the countries where we need to spread these accreditations. I can see from member feedback that they are surprised that we offer this service, and they regard us as pioneers. We recognise that the landscape is changing and that we need to invest in online accreditation now. I’m pretty sure that in 3 to 5 years the old ways of doing things will die off, so if you’re not thinking about

From the Governing Board of EASL:

online education your organisation must surely be at risk.”

New Revenue Streams as a Result of Demonstrable Benefits

The core mission of EASL is dissemination of knowledge.

Not only has online education been instrumental in increasing membership by 489%, it has also opened up new commercial opportunities for EASL. Pavillon states “From the core investment the ROI is easily 3:1, but other opportunities have emerged as well. Because LiverTree™ is a paid service fully controlled by us we can track which topics and speakers are actively being picked up and the level of interaction. That gives us a strong and tangible business case, and the industry is really happy to see that. It equips us to generate commercial sponsorship in other areas, because sponsors can clearly see the potential benefits. The potential to win sponsorship for journals, apps and conferences has undoubtedly grown.”

The most important service EASL offers is easy access to validated, updated information. It is therefore not surprising that our membership is growing and LiverTree™ undoubtedly has an important role to play. We believe from member feedback that LiverTree™ as a membership service puts us ahead of the pack. Seeing the early results and membership growth it has generated has made us determined to continue to be innovative and invest in technological tools to disseminate knowledge. With the reduction of industry support that all associations are facing, we believe it is the right approach to look at different models to

From the core investment the ROI is easily 3:1, but other opportunities have emerged as well. The potential to win sponsorship for journals, apps and conferences has

support our future.

Prof. Jean-François Dufour, EASL Educational Councillor

undoubtedly grown.

6

MICHAELFOREMAN

A Living Project with Unlimited Potential One of the factors in the success of LiverTree™ is EASL’s commitment to further innovation on an ongoing basis. “I was in AASLD’s Washington meeting last November” Pavillon recalls, “People were queuing just to pay the membership fee and get access to LiverTree™. It’s our responsibility to continue to meet their expectations. It’s not just one system – it’s holistic and responsive and we’re always working to make it better day after day. The more we improve it, the more people buy into it and the longer they spend on the system It is definitely MULTILEARNING’s passion and partnership that has enabled us to make that happen. I’m not even convinced that I know the full potential of LiverTree™ yet, but I do know that everyone at EASL is passionate about the vision for the future.”

The User’s Perspective I have been using LiverTree™ since it was established. Primarily I use it to update my knowledge, to revisit expert Hepatology information from previous congress, and to access and share such information from congresses I was not able to attend personally. I find the system to be fast, easy to navigate, reliable and precise. One of the most important benefits of being an EASL member, as far as I am concerned, is the scope for communication and scientific exchange with top experts in the Hepatology fields, and there is no doubt that LiverTree™ is an important

It’s vital that we share what we have achieved at EASL,

tool in facilitating that sharing and dissemination.

because we are living proof that this kind of business growth could be achieved by any association without necessarily including large budgetary changes.

Dr Evangelos Cholongitas, Lecturer in Internal Medicine/ Hepatologist, Medical School of Aristotle University

For more information about EASL and LiverTree™ visit: http://livertree.easl.eu For more information about EASL visit: www.EASL.eu

7

MICHAELFOREMAN

Michael Foreman is an independent specialist working with association boards and executives as well as conference stakeholders in a cross industry context. He has extensive expertise in helping associations, and organisations who service them, achieve their objectives whether that may be in terms of strategy, business development, membership growth, revenue growth or streamlining efficiencies.

@michaelsforeman uk.linkedin.com/in/michaelsforeman t: +44 (0)7939 027 193 e: [email protected]

w w w. m i c h a e l f o re m a n . c o . u k

8